Tinley Park Mental Health Center still open — for now

Quinn, panel exploring gradual shift to community-based care

November 11, 2011|By Ashley Rueff, Chicago Tribune reporters

A legislative panel voted against Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to close the Tinley Park Mental Health Center during a veto session in Springfield Thursday, but an alternative plan to phase out the facility is in the works.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability also voted against closing the Jacksonville Developmental Center and the Logan Correctional Center in Lincoln. That means the bipartisan commission of lawmakers has now rejected all seven facility closures proposed by Quinn to help fill a $313 million budget shortfall.

Quinn's plan, which also called for more than 1,900 layoffs, offered few details about what would happen to those served by the facilities.

The governor does not have to adhere to the recommendation given by the commission but he has followed all eight of its advisory opinions since he took office. The governor's office and lawmakers are considering an alternative plan to keep the facilities open through the fiscal year by reallocating some of Quinn's $376 million budget veto.

"The common argument made by both Democrats and Republicans on the commission was that there was insufficient time to meet the governor's request and inadequate plans for making those transitions," said Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, who co-chairs the legislative panel. "The administration has subsequently developed a more detailed framework for making some of those transitions," Schoenberg said.

That plan would still shutter two mental health centers and up to four developmental centers by the end of fiscal year 2014, said Quinn spokeswoman Brie Callahan. But closures would be made over 2 1/2 years to allow for transitional care and time to strengthen community-based services, she said.

"This was given to some legislators to give them an idea of what our long-term plan is if a reallocation happens," Callahan said.

The plan has been coined the Rebalancing Initiative because the Department of Human Services' long-term plan is to move toward less institutionalization and more community care for people with developmental disabilities, Callahan said.

Schoenberg said money for the transition would come from shifting funds around in the state budget to take advantage of federal matching funds, which would free up more funding.

Commission co-chair Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, said even the revised plan discussed Thursday offered too few details for her to support closing Tinley Park's center.

"This does not look to me, from what I can see here, that they actually have a plan to take care of severely mentally ill people," Bellock said.